|| *Comments on the 2009 Southern 500:* View the most recent comment <#68> | Post a comment <#post> 1. CarlEdwards99 posted: 05.10.2009 - 8:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) glad to see Mark win, but this race should never be refered to as the "Southern 500". There is only one weekend the "Southern 500" can be raced on. 2. Clayton posted: 05.10.2009 - 9:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought it was good that the Southern 500 was back. It needs to be on Labor Day Weekend your right, but NASCAR are a bunch of fools! 3. Pork Rind posted: 05.10.2009 - 9:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) As a Jeff Gordon fan I would have liked to see him notch his 8th Sprint Cup series win at Darlington, but a 5th place finish is no reason to be upset. Mark Martin is on a hot streak, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. As for the # 48 team, they started 42nd in a backup car, were one lap down in 29th (I think) at one point, and still have the resolve to post a 2nd place finish. Love them or hate them, they are the best team in Sprint Cup racing. 4. Kevin posted: 05.10.2009 - 9:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It is great to see Martin win again. I can say without a doubt this will not be his last win of the season or his career. He will be a factor in the chase!! 5. 18fan posted: 05.10.2009 - 12:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Do any of these guys like Mears, Speed, Ragan, and Hornish know how to drive? Was very impressed with Joey Logano, he had a top 5 car. Another race falls into a Hendrick cars lap after every other car that were way better have problems. Kyle has won the same amount of races since he left Hendrick as all four Hendrick drivers combined. Also, Jeremy Mayfield was suspended indefinitely due to failing a random drug test at Richmond and former Busch Series driver Kevin Grubb, who also was suspended for failing a drug test, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 6. 18fan posted: 05.10.2009 - 12:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, there is something seriously wrong with the 88 team. Brad Keselowski, in his first Cup race at Darlington, finished 7th. Joey Logano finished 9th. Scott Speed, in JOE NEMECHEK'S car, that has parked in all but one race, finished ahead of Junior. 6 of the top 7 cars were six of the seven cars with Hendrick engines and chassis. The only one that is not, Junior. I don't know who to blame, but he is embarrassing Hendrick. He was better at DEI. He has been terrible ever since he won at Michigan for whatever reason. 7. dUDE gUY posted: 05.10.2009 - 12:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Both Stewart Haas cars finished in the top five for the second week in a row. Nice. Scott Speed finishes 26th in Joe Nemechek's 87 car, getting the second-best finish of the year for NEMCO. Brad Keselowski ran an excellent race, slowly but surely working his way from starting 31st into the top ten. I gotta say even though I'm glad Mark Martin win, I was pulling for Truex to take the checkers. Good race overall though for the 1 car. 8. Zac posted: 05.10.2009 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Bowyer's DNF streak of 83 races gets snapped after three hard hits to both the inside and outside backstretch wall. 17 cautions broke the old record of 15. 9. John Royal posted: 05.10.2009 - 12:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wouldnt be suprised if Keselowski replaces Dale Jr. next season. I don't see how it is possible to suck this much in top tier car and team as Junior does. Of course Junior has loads of sponsorship potential and that is good reason to keep him. So nice to see Martin winning. 10. Anonymous posted: 05.10.2009 - 1:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Marin tied Bobby Isaac for career points wins in cup with 37. Mark also gets his first season with more than 1 points race win in a season since 1999. Mark is a threat for the championship this year. Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano impressed me all night. Brad Keselowski proved his cup win wasn't a fluke. Rick needs to find him a team in cup. Joey showed he has talent tonight, but don't expect him to show this a lot this year tough due to his lack of experience on most cup tracks. Eliott Sadler gets his best finish since the Daytona 500. Kevin Harvick gets his bet finish since Martinsville. The 88 team has problems as today showed again. The driver screwed up on pit road and the pit crew screwed up a pit stop also. The entire team needs to be overhauled including the crew chief and the driver. Clint Bowyer doesn't need to points race anymore since his streak is over. David Ragan has been disappointing this year. The whole Roush organization is having a down year this year. 11. Anonymous posted: 05.10.2009 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, there is something seriously wrong with the 88 team." I believe that problem can be found between the seat and the steering wheel. 12. Anonymous posted: 05.10.2009 - 3:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @| 05.10.09 - 2:19 pm , It is more than the driver. Jr. over shot his pits last night, but the 2nd mistake in the pits was on the pit crew. Dale Jr has been a problem in terms making pit road mistakes this year, but how you explain the pit crew members making mistakes on a pit stop at multiple races this year? When Jr. doesn't make a mistake on pit road, the pit crew screws up on a pit stop. Like I said before, the whole team needs to be overhauled. That including the pit crew, driver and crew chief and spotter. 13. Mike posted: 05.10.2009 - 3:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad Keselowski deserves to be in cup full time next year and he proved it tonight with an awesome 7th place run. Hopefully he will be the 3rd car in the Stewart-Haas operation. Mark Martin would most likely be leading the points right now if it wasn't for the bad start to the season. The 5 team is going to be tough to beat this year. Dale Jr's pit crew is a joke. Sure he's messed up but the crew chief and the pit crew has screwed up almost every race this year. Honestly I don't think Jr's cars are that bad but the problem is they qualify so bad and Tony Eury Jr is unwilling to get crazy with the strategy to get him to the front. He proved at Phoenix if he's at the front he can stay there for awhile. Jr is a great man and he deserves better than this. 14. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.10.2009 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It is so cool to watch Mark Martin winning regularly again for the first time in 10 years. Although I would REALLY REALLY REALLY like to see him win a Cup championship, I am not going to worry about that. I am going to take his approach and just enjoy watching him race, contend for wins, and win. I say this because I know, when the cha$e starts, he will be hit with his usual bad luck. I'm going to say this right now: I guarantee that in the Fall Talladega race he will be caught up in the big one that somebody else starts and finish 38th or worse. He will also have at least two other finishes of 30th or worse not of his doing. I don't know why this always happens to Mark, but it just does. So I will just take the opportunity and enjoy watching this classy man compete and beat boys 1/2 his age and with 1/2000000 of his maturity, and not worry about him winning his well deserved championship. At least that is what I am telling myself. 15. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.10.2009 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He was better at DEI." That's because DEI was a really good team when he was there. Hell, they made Michael Waltrip a winner. The same Michael Waltrip who, despite going to Darlington for 25 years, was consistetly at the very bottom of the practice speeds and just looked totally lost all weekend. Unfortunately when JR left, Budweiser also left with their huge sponsorship checks, and DEI went to complete crap. But of course nobody in Junior Nation can admit that. They say JR couldn't compete with Hendrick because his cars were inferior and his "wicked stepmother" wasn't any good. Well guess what? He drives for Hendrick now, and he completely sucks. He slid through his pits at one point, and that is actually an improvement because at least he didn't drive completely past them. This is his 10th year in Cup after two full seasons in the Busch Series. He should be able to make a goddamn pit stop by now. But he screws up almost every week. Or to put the problem with the #88 team more simply: "I believe that problem can be found between the seat and the steering wheel." Amen. 16. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.10.2009 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BTW, I heard a rumor that the reason this race was called the "Southern 500" is because Atlanta was thinking about calling their Labor Day race this year the Southern 500. Although I agree the only true "Southern 500" is a 500 mile race held at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend ran entirely in the afternoon heat, it is way better that this race be called the Southern 500 than a race at a completely different track. I would once again like to thank the decision makers at NASCAR for ruining this wonderful tradition of NASCAR, Labor Day weekend, and Darlington. 17. Ost posted: 05.10.2009 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good race! 18. John Royal posted: 05.10.2009 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin didn't only win, he (at 50 something years!) was at best shape of all top drivers after long four hour race. Did you saw Ryan Newman? Altough he drove nice race, he was taking a serious breather after the race. Martin can pass his rocking chair to Dale Jr. 19. Bronco posted: 05.10.2009 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Its funny how NASCAR and the FOX broadcast just acted as if this was the same Southern 500 that had always been there on Labor Day. Naming this race the Southern 500 was nice, but ultimately nothing more than a marketing gimmick and next year this race will go back to being the Dodge WeAreBankrupt 500. Good to see Mark win again, but at this rate he won't retire until 2015, lol. To be honest I was pulling for Truex to win because of all the rotten luck he's had, but hopefully his time will come. Bowyer fell just ONE race short of tying Herman Beam's all time streak of not having a DNF. I was glad to see his streak end because I never cared much for him after his Michael Waltrip remarks. If it were up to me, I would overhaul the entire 88 team RIGHT NOW. Lose the crew chief, the pit crew, the engineers, just start over. That team is the laughing stock of Hendrick and Mr. Hendrick needs drug testing if he thinks that he should just keep things the way they are. I don't know why people keep knocking Dale Jr's talent, we know he's talented but he really needs to get his head in the game and realize Tony Jr is getting him anywhere. Finishing last out of all your teammates is embarassing. 20. Anonymous posted: 05.10.2009 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Mike and 18fan, The equipment at Hendrick is not the problem. How do explain Mark doing better than Casey Mears did in the 5 car? That is on the driver. The equipment is good, but Dale Jr., the pit crew and the crew chief have been doing a sub par job . The driver is part of the problem. Race cars are not supposed to drive themselves. When you qualify poorly,you have to charge his way up the field like his old man did. Dale Sr. gave feedback to his crew chief and ended up getting to top 10's and 5's despite qualifying poorly. The other problems right now is Dale Jr. lacks confidence, and lost a crew member to Tony Stewart's team. That team member is Stewart's crew chief. That is caused by his trust of his crew chief and his own abilities. Dale Jr. isn't the best at giving feedback. His crew chief is part of the problem for adjusting and making bad calls on pit road, but it is a two way street. Dale JR. is doing his worst job of racing since 2005 or his worse ever as a cup driver. The crew chief and pit crew have been doing sub par jobs too. I basically said everyone on the 88 team needs to be fired in my past posts. 21. Kit posted: 05.10.2009 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jr is a great man and he deserves better than this." Why? Just because his name is Earnhardt? If he wants better, he needs to start driving better. You can't blame everything on the team. There have been drivers with worse equipment that have done better. 22. Mike posted: 05.10.2009 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kit, No, I didn't say that because his name is Earnhardt. Dale is a very classy individual who has the up most respect for the history and tradition of this sport. I'm not saying the way he's performing is not his fault, he is certainly at fault for missing his pit stall. All I'm saying is the guy is a great man and I hope nothing but the best for him. I know he is a talented driver and I will stick with him through the thick and thin. 23. RaceFanX posted: 05.10.2009 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sam Hornish Jr had a big spin on the front stretch at 140 MPH after contact with Mark Martin but didn't hit anything and oddly didn't bring out the yellow. Carl Edwards drove a light blue car with balloons painted on it to promote the release of the Pixar movie "Up" 24. New14&88 Fan posted: 05.10.2009 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But of course nobody in Junior Nation can admit that. They say JR couldn't compete with Hendrick because his cars were inferior and his "wicked stepmother" wasn't any good. Well guess what? He drives for Hendrick now, and he completely sucks. He slid through his pits at one point, and that is actually an improvement because at least he didn't drive completely past them. This is his 10th year in Cup after two full seasons in the Busch Series. He should be able to make a goddamn pit stop by now. But he screws up almost every week. Or to put the problem with the #88 team more simply: That's because Jr. Nation lacks a little thing that goes in betweene your ears called a brain.On youtube NASCAR the second some one so mmuch as thinks up something negitive about Jr.(even when it's true)the internet Jr. fans jump all over 'em and unleash hell on earth.It's like he's the friggin' messiah and he can do no wrong...it's sickening. Clint Bowyer's no-DNF streak ends at 83 races after a hard crash.Maybe now he and the #33 will focus on winning races instead of just collecting laps. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski really impressed me with their good runs.logano quilfied up front but Keselowski drove all the way from 31st to nab a top ten.... ....and he finished ahead of his Nationwide owner and mentor. 25. Bronco posted: 05.10.2009 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Carl Edwards drove a light blue car with balloons painted on it to promote the release of the Pixar movie "Up" And speaking of Carl, he was pretty mad at Biffle for putting him in the wall. Wonder if he's going to throw a fake punch at Biffle next week? Also the Dinger made a great save in qualifying, while Sadler had his best run since Daytona. Sorenson has also done pretty well the last couple of races. 26. Anonymous posted: 05.10.2009 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @18fan, Sam Hornish Jr. has some talent as a Nascar driver. He had 2 top 10's in his last 3 races before going into Darlington. He was running into the top 15 till around half way point at the race at Darlington. Sam has to have some talent since he finished in the top 10 at Phoenix and Richmond. Those two track are known as driver tracks. The catch is Sam won at those two race tracks as an IRL Driver and those two races are less than 500 miles or laps. You have to look at the fact Sam didn't have a great record at 500 Mile races in Indycar before his last 2 races there. His best finish there before 2007 there was 14th. He seems to do better at races that are less than 500 miles also that are not plate tracks this year. That means Sam has history of being better at races that are not 500 miles or laps. Darlington is one of the toughest tracks in Nascar. Sam has struggled there in his first two tries there. 27. Ivan Balakhonov posted: 05.10.2009 - 11:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice job by Tony Raines. He had two start & parks before Darlington, so it was quite surpising to see him driving the whole race. The post-race interview with Stewart was very funny. Smoke was very ecstatic, his eyes were glowing. It seemed he was still in the race. And Newman sitting near him made such a contrast! Ryan was so exhausted... 28. Baker posted: 05.11.2009 - 11:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Back to back team top 5's for Stewart-Hass. I'm calling Stewarts first win at New Hampshire here shortly. Mark it. 29. Rusty posted: 05.11.2009 - 12:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jeremy Mayfield was suspended for substance abuse before this race. He failed to qualify for this race anyways, but it was a suprise to see Mayfield get busted for something like that. 30. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.11.2009 - 2:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon's team also made a pit road miscue, leaving a tire loose. Jeff had to pit and spent most of the first half of the race a lap down. Here is the difference between Jeff and Dale Jr. Jeff didn't make the situation worse. It had to be very frustrating to be a lap down for so long with a Top 5 car. He always seemed to be right on the cusp of the lucky dog, but couldn't quite get it. But he didn't damage his car, and once he got back on the lead lap, he tip toed around the 20th place cars, eventually getting back in the top 5 where he finished. Dale Jr on the other hand totally imploded, as he has done his entire career for the most part. When adversity hits him, he gets all negative and loses his concentration, and makes things worse. He makes bad issues snowball into something even worse. Rick Hendrick knows what he is doing. He knows he can't overhaul the #88 team. Because even if he does, the results won't pick up, and it will prove that Dale Jr, despite being a talented driver, is not capable of producing good finishes consistently. His mind is far far away. Rick knows this, so he won't change anything. This allows Tony Jr and the rest of Dale Jr's first class team to take all the heat. In a perfect world, he could just kick Dale's ass out the door and put Keselowski in the car, but he can't for sponsorship reasons. Despite his recent horrible on track production, he is still a HUGE marketing tool (for reasons I don't understand, but it is an undeniable fact). There is no way sponsors will pay that kind of money to be on somebody else's car, even a talented, deserving, hungry, focused kid like Brad who is bursting with potential. Sad But True. 31. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.11.2009 - 2:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) One other thing: They need to go back in the record books and give Cale Yarborough another Top 10 finish. Joey Logano has looked like complete and utter crap all year in the Cup cars. Yet he gets a long tutorial from Cale on how to run Darlington, and looks great all night. They need to give that Top 10 to Cale. 32. #20 fan but #48 Hater posted: 05.11.2009 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well im back after a long hiatus from this site. some of you may remember me and hated me but i have to say i was pulling for tony there in the end it was weird that he couldnt catch eiher of those hendrick cars of Mark Martin and the other guy but still a major finish getting his best career finish at darlington, and gets his 5th consecutive top 5 finish. Stewart is on a roll right now and the points are showing for it he has been the most consistent driver without a win thus far and it looks like he may lead the point standings for the first time since he won the championship in 05 as for the Ryan Newman team i was lukewarm about the operation from the beginning because in ryans first couple of races he never finished in the top 20 but now that we have hit a strech of short tracks it tells me newman has his short track program together and a third at talladega was also a boost which has put a basically Green Fresh Nascar team in top ten in points which is something the former haas CNC team never did. i was right about what would happen with tony if you read the comments i made on his driver comments page on this site almost an entire year ago! thats all the comments i have for today Oh Yeah and congrats to Mark Martin on his first Multiple victory season since 1999 bet he didnt know that year that in one decade he would still be a nascar winner. 33. Anonymous posted: 05.11.2009 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Props to my man Regan Smith for another solid lead lap finish. Furniture Row's decision to run a part time schedule seems to be paying off, since Regan has finished on the lead lap 3 times in 6 starts this year and has a better avg. finish than guys like Sadler, Dinger, Ragan, Labonte, and Moldy Bread. Hopefully he gets a full time ride for 2010. Don't forget to vote Regan into the All-Star race! 34. Baker posted: 05.12.2009 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) So Logano finally shows his talent, and now he didn't deserve that Top 10 run they should just give it to his teacher? Ridiculous. Every great driver learns from another. Joey earned this finish and people are still going to be hating. 35. dUDE gUY posted: 05.12.2009 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey Logano impressed me this race. It seemed like he was almost always in the top ten. I think he just needed some adjustment time. He's had 3 top 20 finishes in his last three races (two of those are 9th place finishes), where in his first eigth starts this year he only had one (a 13th at Vegas). He seems to be getting the hang of driving these cars now. And judging by the comments here, I'm not the only one who has lost a substantial amount of faith in Dale Jr. after seeing his utterly pathetic performance at Darlington. Hendrick or Hendrick affiliated cars filled the top five, and another finished seventh, yet Junior barely touched the top ten all night in his Hendrick car. Junior has got to stop blaming himslef for all of his teams problems - there's simply too many mistakes being made on that team for Jr. to be responsible fot all of them. It's likely a communication and confidence problem. Jr is a great driver, but he keeps trying to avoid making mistakes. That's great and all, but he's focusing WAY too much on avoiding mistakes - so much so that he can't focus on the race properly, thus creating more opportunities to make mistakes than if he were to just focus on just racing in the first place! Phew, that was a mouthful! Junior and that 88 team is especially bad when they've already made a mistake. Look at Johnson and the 48 team. They've made mistakes left, right and centre as well. The difference between Jr's team and Johnson's tem is that the 48 bunch is focused on RACING, no matter the situation they are in. Laps down, damaged car, doesn't matter. They are there to race, so they will race. The 88 team on the other hand just gets worked up after each mistake they make, and they lose focus on the job at hand - racing! Yeah it sucks being a lap down or having a damaged car, but if you focus and keep working on that car as hard as you can, you'll avoid the mistakes that getting worked up over other mistakes will bring. 36. Kit posted: 05.12.2009 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Agreed about the Southern 500 date. "Mark Martin is on a hot streak, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy." In the past several seasons, Martin has been indirectly involved with several drivers losing their rides, so I'm hesitant to call him a nice guy. Dale Jr. I could not care less about. He's just a textbook underachiever. You all need to come to terms with the fact that he probably won't ever win a Chase championship and 2004 will probably be the peak of his career. He had EVERYTHING handed to him, and he can't do shit with it. What sucks is that drivers like the late Bobby Hamilton didn't get shit and made more out of it than Dale Jr. has done in a Hendrick car. "Clint Bowyer's DNF streak of 83 races" Ahh, who cares. DNF is a stupid statistic. You could be 200 laps down in a car made out of duct tape and you still won't get a DNF. "I wouldnt be suprised if Keselowski replaces Dale Jr. next season." I would be; Dale Jr. is a cash cow. Too many redneck fans that support him and have high propensities to consume his souvenirs. But you're right, he would be in the hot seat if his name wasn't Earnhardt. 37. Bronco posted: 05.12.2009 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Martin has been indirectly involved with several drivers losing their rides," That's true, I didn't like how he was able to pick the best races to run and left all the scraps for Almirola and Smith. "2004 will probably be the peak of his career" Hate to say it but I'm starting to think so too. After that Phoenix win in 2004 and Tony Eury Sr's departure, Dale Jr's career has been going downhill since. What pisses me off is stubborness of insisting that Tony Jr is the only crew chief for him. If it were up to me I would tell him to shut up and replace Tony Jr with Lance McGrew or Robbie Loomis. "What sucks is that drivers like the late Bobby Hamilton didn't get shit" Don't forget Joe Nemechek. I know he just does start and parks now, but when you consider the fact that he won three races at three different tracks for three different teams that don't even exist anymore, that's pretty impressive. 38. Kit posted: 05.12.2009 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That's true, I didn't like how he was able to pick the best races to run and left all the scraps for Almirola and Smith." Furthermore, I think he was indirectly involved with costing Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek their rides at Ginn. Ginn was a sinking ship, yes, but a comment by Martin got Regan Smith put in the car over both drivers, which would have been more significant if Ginn didn't stop racing a week later. It doesn't bother me that Martin decided not to retire, but the way he did it really knocked some blows in the careers of other drivers. "What pisses me off is stubborness of insisting that Tony Jr is the only crew chief for him." Like I said, he's a textbook underachiever. Dale Jr. doesn't give that much of a shit about winning races and championships. He'd prefer not to offend Tony Jr., even if it destroys his racing career. The only reason he's in a Cup car now is because people expect him to be. It's a faux career. "Don't forget Joe Nemechek. I know he just does start and parks now" Nemechek is a much better driver than he'll ever be able to show. The ONLY reason he starts and parks now is because he doesn't have the funding to run entire races. 39. Anonymous posted: 05.12.2009 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kit, How do explain the following with Dale Jr:: I read that Dale Jr. told Tony Eury Jr to make wedge adjustments at Richmond. The catch is Tony Eury Jr. gave the car a trackbar adj instead and after that things went all to hell as a result. This from http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=26446 40. Kit posted: 05.13.2009 - 1:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's Dale Jr.'s own damn fault for keeping Tony Jr. around. No offense, but if you read my post above, I indicated that Dale Jr. controls his own racing career and yet he will do nothing about Eury Jr. Dale Jr. is yesterday's news. I'm already tired of talking about him. 41. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.13.2009 - 1:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've never been a fan of the partial schedule for developing young drivers. It never allows them to get a rhythm. The main guy runs for 4 or 5 weeks in a row, gets in a rhythm with the team and has good results, then the secondary guy gets in, and the crew has to re-adjust, and the results aren't as good, leading to many to blame the secondary guy. We have seen this not just from the last two years with Mark at MB2/Ginn/DEI/EGR Whatever The Hell Its Called This Week, but in the Busch Series. It would be best done if two veterans looking to scale back split the ride. It was rumored that Rusty and Mark might do that, but it never happened. 42. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.13.2009 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kit, I'm glad you mentioned Bobby Hamilton. He doesn't get the credit he deserves for what he did in Cup. He won 4 races with 3 teams that are out of business now. In Petty Enterprises' final TWENTY FIVE YEARS of operations they only won 3 races. Bobby won two of them, at Rockingham and Phoenix, two tough 1 mile tracks. Morgan McClure Motorsports, after splitting with Ernie Irvan in the middle of 1993, only won two non restrictor plate races. Bobby had one of them, at tough Martinsville. Then he had one of only two wins in the history of Andy Petree Racing. The other was by Joe Nemechek, and I agree with you guys, he is also very underrated. But Bobby also had the quote of the decade. In 2001, after tangling at Martinsville with Kevin Harvick, whom everyone was heralding as the next Dale Earnhardt, said Kevin "isn't a scab on Dale Earnhardt's butt". Nine years later, he has been proven prophetic. Bobby Hamilton: Great guy, underrated racer, visionary. 43. Bronco posted: 05.13.2009 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I've never been a fan of the partial schedule for developing young drivers. It never allows them to get a rhythm." True. Erik Darnell (who is much more talented than Ragan) ran the past two Nationwide races, and he doesn't get back in the car for another MONTH. He doesn't have a truck series ride either so he has to pretty much twiddle his thumbs. I hope that when Mark finally does retire (whenever that is, probably 2020) he just quits after Homestead rather than dragging it on. "The other was by Joe Nemechek, and I agree with you guys, he is also very underrated." Exactly, how many other guys would be able to make 32/36 races and score a pole while driving for crappy Furniture Row? 44. Ambrose_fan posted: 05.13.2009 - 11:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Ahh, who cares. DNF is a stupid statistic. You could be 200 laps down in a car made out of duct tape and you still won't get a DNF." We saw this at Talladega. You'll find that quite a lot of other championships worldwide use a system based on the distance completed. For example, you must complete 75% race distance to be classified as finishing the race. 45. Anonymous posted: 05.14.2009 - 11:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) hey Bronco, while I, too, agree that Joe Nemechek is an underrated driver, scoring a pole at Talladega is not indicative of driver talent whatsoever. Cheers. 46. WillG_46 posted: 05.14.2009 - 9:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I understand that Dale Jr wants to keep Tony Jr around because he's family, but he seriously needs to say "Screw it" and let Tony Jr go. As a fan, it's just sickening to see Jr run so poorly when I know that he can be a championship driver. He also needs to work on being a better and more confident driver. Let someone else run the bar, and cut some of the commercials, and give Tony Sr. a larger role in JR Motorsports, and just focus on racing and how to be your best. The guy probably has more talent than 90% of the drivers out there, but he keeps getting knocked back by his team, and by himself. He is his own worst enemy right now. 47. Bronco posted: 05.15.2009 - 8:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "while I, too, agree that Joe Nemechek is an underrated driver, scoring a pole at Talladega is not indicative of driver talent whatsoever." When it comes in a Furniture Row car, it sure is. Don't forget that Nemechek has more poles at Talladega than anyone else (4) and they came with four different teams so clearly he knows how to qualify there. Other Joe Nemechek accomplishments include taking the underfunded 13 car and putting it in the top 35, as well finishing on the lead lap in some races, also he was able to qualify the horrible 08 car for the August 2007 Michigan race. 48. Anonymous posted: 05.15.2009 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "As a fan, it's just sickening to see Jr run so poorly when I know that he can be a championship driver." He can't be a championship driver... lol. his time has come and gone. like elliott sadler. elliott was good and now he isn't, and thats jr now. 49. Kit posted: 05.19.2009 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "when I know that he can be a championship driver" A championship driver is someone who actually gives a shit about racing. Dale Jr. does not give that much of a shit about racing. Racing to him is just a formality to keep his celebrity status. 50. Anonymous posted: 05.19.2009 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dale Jr. does not give that much of a shit about racing." I disagree. I'm sure he's feeling burned up inside right now watching his teammates consistently challenge for wins. Talent wise he's a championship caliber driver, but he lacks focus. This will sound weird, but I'm starting to think that he's having a meltdown in his personal life (health problems maybe?) which is taking away his attention from the track. I don't know how else to explain all the mental errors he's made lately. 51. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.20.2009 - 12:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Look, does Dale Jr "want" to do well? Of course he does. I have no doubt he wants to win every race and dominate, and that he isn't happy running so poorly. But is he willing to step up his own game, mentally and physically, to see to it that he reaches his full potential? No, he isn't. Not even close. You mentioned possible personal meltdowns, and I have a theory on that. This might sound crazy considering he isn't even 35 yet, but I think he is having a mid-life crisis. I know this usually doesn't happen until at least 10 or 20 years later in life, but Dale Jr has always wanted to be the little kid. He has never wanted to grow up. And now he has to accept the fact that he isn't a young gun anymore, and he doesn't like it. Being such a huge star in NASCAR, without having to really accomplish anything on the race track, has only made this worse. He has been celebrated for his boyish antics, his Peter Pan type lifestyle. He has had no real reason to grow up. But this can't last forever. Plus when you consider how much emphasis is placed on youth in today's NASCAR, it makes him feel much older. Obviously 34 is still young for the world, but it is old in NASCAR, even with Mark Mertin still kicking ass. I don't know if that made any sense or not, but it is just a theory I have. 52. Kit posted: 05.21.2009 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I disagree. I'm sure he's feeling burned up inside right now watching his teammates consistently challenge for wins." If he wanted to win, all he has to do is change crew chiefs. He won't do it. He doesn't give that much of a shit about racing compared to other drivers. I agree with DaleSrFanForever. 53. Aaron posted: 11.25.2009 - 7:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darlington should get the labor day race date back and of course call it The Southern 500. 54. awesomegordonfan posted: 11.10.2010 - 6:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mayfield's last attempt before his drug faliure 55. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 05.11.2012 - 11:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, this was a memorable race for me, mainly because of how Martin won it. Outside of that though, the race was nothing that great. Mostly single-file racing with a bunch of crashes. However, before 2011, I was a crash fanatic, so I wasn't complaining then. I am just slightly complaining now. Hmmm...Wonder if these guys still think that Jr isn't trying to win races. 56. Daniel posted: 05.22.2012 - 10:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #41 Jeremy Mayfield & #82 Scott Speed Out using fastest 43: #43 Reed Sorenson & #48 Jimmie Johnson 57. SG224 posted: 12.24.2012 - 12:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well since this race happened, Brad Keselowski has found Penske Racing and won the Sprint Cup, whoever said they had telent were right. Dale Jr. dosent win until Michigan in 2012. Mark would win at Michigan, New Hampshire, and Chicago this year and finish 2nd to once again Jimmie Johnson. As of 2012 Mark hasnt won since the 09 season. Jeremy Mayfield has nearly hit rock bottom since his drug failure with the reposetion of his house. Darlington continues to use the Southern 500 name. And NASCAR still sucks from this. 58. CBASS posted: 02.03.2013 - 8:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #88 Mountain Dew #47 Bush's Best Baked Beans #42 Target/ Polaroid #99 Up/ Aflac #55 NAPA Adaptive One Brakes #44 Best Buy/ Insignia #43 Valvoline Crew Chief Tribute http://archives.ciastockphoto.com/cgi/images.php?group=w0912 59. LASTCAR posted: 04.23.2013 - 12:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Gilliland picked up the 1st last-place finish of his career in Saturday's Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway when his unsponsored #71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet lost the fuel pump after completing 27 of the race's 367 laps. The finish came in Gilliland's 97th career Sprint Cup start. Gilliland and Kevin Buckler's TRG (The Racer's Group) Motorsports team were one of the many pleasant surprises at the opening of the 2009 season. TRG made its first NASCAR Sprint Cup attempt with Mike Wallace in the Daytona 500, but barely missed the show. David Gilliland took over driving duties at Fontana, and since then, the #71 has made every race and has been either in or near the top 35 in owner's points. However, the team's first two DNF's came in consecutive races at Talladega and Richmond, and Gilliland and TRG looked for redemption at Darlington. Gilliland was 3rd fastest in Friday's first practice session for the Southern 500 and he was again the fastest of the go-or-go-homers in Happy Hour. The car struggled in qualifying, picking up the 30th starting spot with a speed of 175.441, but the #71 was still the third-fastest go-or-go-homer behind Max Papis and Regan Smith. In the race, Gilliland kept his nose clean through a pair of early cautions, but he pulled behind the wall under green with a busted fuel pump on lap 28. Gilliland did not return to the race. It is the first last-place finish for Kevin Buckler and TRG and the first for the #71 since Jay Sauter, driving Dave Marcis' RealTree Chevrolet, fell out after an early crash in the 2002 EA Sports 500 at Talladega. 2009 RANKINGS 1st) Dave Blaney (3) 2nd) Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine, David Gilliland, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1) Visit http://brockbeard.blogspot.com/ for more. 60. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 04.24.2014 - 11:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew 64 Todd Bodine Toyota TBA Larry Gunselman 61. Nu3clearWa4le posted: 10.02.2015 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor update #99 - Aflac / Disney Pixar's "Up" 62. Windows Millennium Edition posted: 03.12.2016 - 7:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: #44 Best Buy/Insignia #42 Target/Polaroid #88 Mountain Dew #33 BB&T/Cheerios #7 Quaker State/Menards #99 Disney's Up/Aflac #34 A&W All American Food 63. Maverick11 posted: 06.12.2016 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) My first NASCAR race that I watched large segments of. Unfortunately I couldn't see the finish live, because back then I had a thing called a bedtime. 64. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 06.13.2016 - 2:09 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) ^Way to make me feel old! I was actually at this race (17 at the time). I remember thinking this race was never going to end due to all the yellow flags. I can still remember seeing Michael Waltrip's car skidding into the turn 3 wall on fire when his engine blew. 65. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 10.10.2016 - 11:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver Change DC 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota Joe Nemechek 66. Bodyblower posted: 03.22.2020 - 12:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Todd Bodine was gonna drive the 64, not Geoffrey. 67. SweetRich posted: 06.29.2020 - 12:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators were Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip. The pit road reporters were Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda. 68. Rich posted: 12.17.2020 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joining the race coverage were Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond in the Hollywood hotel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: